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‘Domestication’ Category

  1. Kiwi Powerrrrrr

    February 13, 2013 by barffie

    Scuffed

    I scuffed my new Ecco leather shoes pretty badly on the 2nd day of CNY on some tarmac and was naturally quite upset about it. He bought me the shoes as an early V Day pressie (HALP. I HAVEN’T GOT HIM ANYTHING) and I really do like this pair of shoes very much.

    But apparently some Kiwi shoe polish, a small shoe brush and 10 minutes was all it took to cover up the scuff pretty neatly! I AM SO IMPRESSED. Seriously! I watched intently as the well-trained hands of Jeffwee (thank you, National Service) brushed on the leather lightly and quickly to bring it to a shine, after letting the polish absorb into the leather. No fuss, no muss!

    Ok, that’s all to my story. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

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  2. Condo Dreams

    October 23, 2012 by barffie

    So some friends have been talking about the Condo Dream. Which, in Singapore is a game for the rich. Just like Monopoly. Those with the good rolls of the dice somehow manage to land on the coveted spots of prime estate often enough to build houses and hotels… and then make people pay through their noses just for accidentally stepping on their property.

    I hate Monopoly BTW. I always lose. *HULK SMASH*

    So, about condos. We are about to finish paying for our flat in another 3 years and clearing a bunch of debts (like my study loan) and we can probably look at investing in some property either for leisure or for ka-ching $$$. It’s very boring, I know. How very Singaporean, right? So cheesy.

    Like how Sumiko Tan talked about Singapore’s Golden Age – which is all about having maids, luxury cars, MBS and a second property. Forget about her shallow ramblings, for mine are way more interesting. And it’s free to read me! :D Right???!!?!

    So yes, investment for our golden years – the actual topic of my post, so I digress. I’ve always wanted to live overseas. Somewhere cooler. Somewhere slower. Somewhere much simpler. Somewhere with a nice view of the sea, with no tankers clogging up the horizon. Somewhere with a yard, so we can build an outdoor enclosure for the cats to roam about and watch birdies…

    But it’s a lot of paperwork, can. I’m not sure if my property will appreciate in value. Whereas in Singapore, the property that we’ll get is more likely to go up in value exponentially and hence… a nice golden nest egg for our retirement.

    I don’t want to work forever. Or rather, I want to be able to choose my work, without the burden of commitment. I think I can deal with lower-paying work if finances allow. But that would be another 10 years down the road. Before that dream could be fulfilled though, I want to first check off my bucket list of things to do before I die. I think it’s a lot more important and less boring than… what? A condo.

    So, while that condo dream still seems far away, what’s with the property bubble and over-population stuff… we’ve got this condo for our cats just the other day :D

    Cat condo
    Epic cat condo.

    We love it and I hope they love it too :D

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  3. Protected: Comfort Zone, Trust and Then Some

    August 12, 2012 by barffie

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  4. Cleanliness – and the lack of it.

    March 10, 2012 by barffie

    I have to admit… I was never a clean freak. My mother is one and when I was staying with her, I never had to lift a finger to do any housework. Even before I needed to clean something, she would already have wiped that thing down already. Dust were an uncommon sight in my household before I had my own place.

    After I moved out to our home, the cleaning activities fell squarely on both our shoulders. We have a “room mate” arrangement – to quote my colleague who learnt of our “system” – he does his own laundry and I’ll do mine. His man cave is his to clean and my study room is my prerogative to take care of.

    Of course, we lapse behind in our cleaning schedules, often settling for a simple vacuum and mop sequence, week after week.

    Then came the cats. There was Latte… then Cookie… then Gravy… and now with Mochi, our conjugal home is a furry, dusty mess. I don’t invite people over anymore. My family were also somewhat banned from visiting my home, because I’m so afraid that my mum would faint upon the sight of all those fur and grime. I call her “The Health Inspector” and yeah… in a way I won’t want to frighten her with the kind of living conditions that we put ourselves through.

    But since last year, I grew impatient and disgusted with our home, especially that Master Bedroom’s toilet. There’s this area where water gathers all the time because of the layout and construction of the flooring, which was messed up by the shower kerb that we installed. It’s time that we renovate that hell of a bathroom. ARGH!

    So today, we committed to a part-time cleaning lady who would scrub our place down, 4 hours every 2 weeks. She is doing really fine right now and I appreciated her thoroughness… and for not judging and complaining about our furry home. Maybe she would be complaining in her head, but well… not to me please. Heh.

    I hope things will continue and I can continue loving my home… with some outsourced help, of course.

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  5. The V Day!

    February 26, 2012 by barffie

    I know we aren’t a couple to do such lovey-dovey things all these time, because we didn’t feel the need to jostle with other couples to declare our love and affection for each other. As the cliche goes “Everyday is Valentine’s Day!” and I find that quite true, especially if the foundation of your relationship is built on solid values like love, trust and respect.

    But a few weeks before this Valentine’s Day, I suggested that we should do something together instead of having a regular meal together only to head straight home. That’s kind of boring… plus I would be somewhat dressed up that day and it would be a waste not to fully utilise that opportunity, right? He was a little apprehensive about it, but I told him that I have always been the one planning for dates and stuff, so this time perhaps he could surprise me with an activity. You know, just for the heck of it.

    We don’t do surprises and stuff, especially since we are practical people who’d rather get practical gifts that we know each other would like… so this time I got him a low end Celestron Powerseeker 70EQ telescope which we shopped together for… and he got me the Sennheiser earphones that I have been looking at for a couple of months, ever since Latte chewed up the cables of my previous pair.

    It’s unlikely we’ll do another V Day gift exchange thing because it’s really an occasion to force us to spend money! We’ve always bought each other stuff throughout the year anyway so it’s probably not that crucial for us.

    Anyway, he got us tickets to the Singapore Flyer, something that we have talked about going for a while but just couldn’t muster up the energy to go. It’s a nice surprise! And I walked right into the trap because I suggested the bumboat ride that we have been wanting to take, ever since the Singapore River became a reservoir. The last time we took it was when the boats were still run on noisy diesel engines. Verdict? I think The Flyer’s not worth the money… I’d rather go back up to MBS where we spent our anniversary 2 years ago, or maybe even explore 1-Altitude the next time round.

    But I have to say that some of the best times we’ve had as a couple these 2 years, were the cycling outings to explore obscure places in Singapore. Just us on 2 wheels, no iPad and iPhones (although they were in our bags but we didn’t check on them that often) and a reward of yummy, greasy supper food. 2 weeks ago, we went to NTU to check out the cats we used to feed after struggling up the slopes but the payoff was awesome. The downhill rides were damn shiok lah. The chilly night wind in my face, the sweaty aftermath and the Power Nasi Lemak was worth it.

    Later this year we should be going somewhere in Malaysia, probably Mersing, to stargaze where the light pollution is at a minimum. We’d be broke after Europe, but at least we are going somewhere!

    So you see, there’s no need for gimmicks, just some activities… and priceless experiences shared together by 2 persons who are best friends with each other… and that’s all the validation of love we need.

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  6. “Do Women Plan Their Wardrobe?”

    November 12, 2011 by barffie

    He asked me this as we were weaving through traffic to a wedding this morning.

    I shrugged and said, “I do. Not sure about other women…” I’d just spent an hour curling my long hair in preparation for my Blair Waldorf look. In my mind, I secretly recalled the hatching of the concept just about a couple months back.

    It first started with a dress I bought on ASOS. I found it via a search for “Peter Pan collar”, because well… I love Peter Pan collars. They remind me of my primary school uniform. I hated it back then, but I now find them oh so cute. They have since changed the uniform into something hideous.

    But I digress.

    That was about 3 months ago, as I went through a crazy dress-buying phase. I kept the dress for an appropriate occasion to wear. Probably a lunch wedding.

    So there were 2 weddings coming up, one’s a lunch and one’s a dinner. It was a no-brainer. So what hair do I wear for such dresses? I wore an updo for the dinner – something glam for night, coupled with scary smokey eyes. For the lunch – it was time to let my hair down… and with that preppy collared dress, I’d need preppy hair to match.

    I’ve never liked Gossip Girl, found it frivolous and pointless. But I could never take my eyes off Blair Waldorf’s style. Headbands! Big fluffy curls! Cute girly dresses!

    Perhaps it was turning 30 that turned me into someone who wants to be a schoolgirl again. Oh, dreams.

    So I bought 3 headbands from a cheapo shop with a surprisingly pretty range of headbands that didn’t look that cheapo to choose from. They were selling 3 for $5. So grabbed them I did.

    Then I needed the curls. My naturally wavy hair just wasn’t vavavoom curly enough. So I had to get myself a pair of curling tongs. Couldn’t bear to plonk money down on one (I’m cheapo, remember?) so I borrowed one from my colleague. I singed my fingers a few times and tangled my hair in the curling iron a few times. I also lost a bit of hair. *clutches desperately at broken hair*

    Long story short… here’s my hair. :D It wasn’t as big and fluffy as hers, but I guess with a pair of fatter curling tongs I might be able to achieve better effects.


    My waist-length hair was hidden behind… but you can see the collar from here (not exactly Peter Pan, but school-girly enough… And yes, there was a nasty cleavage that I am not sharing.


    Here’s a fuller version… I didn’t take a photo of the back. Damn.

    So yeah. I did plan quite far ahead, because it’s nice to put on make up and costume for loads of photo-taking opportunities! Hur hur hur. I liked the outcome and so did he. And so did my friends at the wedding.

    Good effort, I supposed!

    Category Domestication, Vanity | Tags: | No Comments

  7. No Longer a Couple

    August 14, 2011 by barffie

    Last Couple Shot
    Last couple shot.

    We had a pair of cars. They were a couple. A 2007 Mitsubitshi Lancer GLX and a 2008 Subaru R1.

    Today they were no longer a couple.

    As the dealer drove off with the Boy car, I felt my eyes welling up with emotions. I could only imagine how Jeffwee felt at that point. The way he looked as he caught the last sight of his car was… quite upsetting.

    So now we are cutting back with our expenses by having only 1 car, and hopefully it’ll translate to better times for us for the next couple of years. Perhaps we’ll be getting a bigger, shared car in time to come (automatic transmission please hurhur), but we’ll see.

    After the Circle Line fully opens I’m going to take the train from Buona Vista to work. I hope I won’t start hating my commuting life again.

    To the Boy car:
    Sorry I was afraid to drive you. You were something I feared. But you were there for my boy every time he battled the traffic to work and back. You have served us well, sent us to plenty of places… and hope your new owner will treasure you like he did.

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  8. Appreciation

    July 22, 2011 by barffie

    Instant noodles
    爱心 brain food

    So sometimes I don’t show my appreciation much for him. But I do appreciate it whenever he goes out of his way to do stuff so that I didn’t need to.

    I attribute my infrequent insensitivity to my upbringing. It’s true, we were brought up to be quite passive and reactive in nature. Although I have somewhat eradicated these traits over the years, sometimes these ugly bits still surface at the most inopportune moments.

    I’m an inherently lazy soul. I didn’t have to lift a finger around the house when I was staying with my mother. I appreciated her efforts in keeping the household spick-and-span, but I sometimes wondered if she enabled me in my laziness.

    Of course, I’m not about to blame everyone else but myself. But I get defensive because I beat myself up enough already, so when an external party tells me something bad, my natural instinct is to hold my ground. And we know how that turned out sometimes.

    So if I forget to say “thank you” on occasions that I should, please don’t hold it against me. Please? I still meant what I didn’t say, you know.

    Category Domestication, YUM!!! | Tags: | No Comments

  9. Hello, you

    September 29, 2010 by barffie

    Jeffwee and I

    You’ve always said you love me because I make you laugh.

    That I am silly and funny, and you like sharing your life with me.

    You’ve said that I am your only friend. The only person you could tell your secrets to.

    Although I don’t always take everything with a pinch of salt, and you have spent many nights trying to convince me that your feelings were steadfast and true… Although I tell everyone “all good things come to an end, and perhaps even my relationship with him won’t last forever…” Although I am not the easiest person to live with, just because of my fluctuating temperament…

    Deep down, I wished this would go on and on, until we are too old to walk, until we are too weak to carry our cats, until we can’t speak anymore, until we couldn’t hold each other hands any longer…

    I hope you’ll stay with me, even if I am old, saggy and a whole lot of grumpy… Even when I stop making you laugh, or stop being silly and funny… I hope you’ll stay right here, right beside me.

    Will you?

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  10. Yippeee! Honeymoon again!

    December 17, 2007 by barffie

    Blogging from the airport!!!

    Thanks to all those who have given us well wishes and special thanks to those who turned up for the lunch! Apologies to those who were not invited because our place was packed with people with nowhere to sit! More details when I come back ok?

    We were pleasantly surprised however that we not only managed to cover the buffet expenses and a litttttttle bit more to spend over at Taipei, we were really heartened by the generous ‘gifts’ everyone gave us even though this was really, really a very simple affair at my home.

    Apart from the little hiccup with the caterer arriving way too early that morning, everything went very well… The weather was fine, after days of rain and more rain… and most of our friends turned up and most importantly, our family members were rather pleased with how yummy the spread was and how nice the full buffet set-up looked.

    :D So happy! We can now honeymoon in peace knowing that our bank accounts are not that broken, after all. :)

    Wheeeeeeeeeee love you guys. Buai buai~!

    Category Domestication, Love, Wanderlust | Tags: | No Comments

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